missfee said:

Is it me or are the Rockets in dire need of a good barber???? Just sayin'.

They are in dire need of many things. But most importantly, they are in dire need of some voodoo priestess to remove the Kardashian Curse that James Harden inflicted upon them when he dated one of the Kardashians earlier this year.

I don't know how you remove that curse but I have to assume it involves a lot of soap and penicillin.

uPtoWnNY said:

Only the Spurs have a chance against the Warriors.

If they can slow down the game enough to give the Warriors far fewer possessions and stop them from making shots (or the Warriors have a bad shooting night that night), they have a chance. That's how they won the one game against us this season. Three other times they weren't able to do that, and we broke the curse and won in San Antonio. Based on that I don't see them beating us four out of seven times.

Empress said:

Cerebus said:

I'm sure you have some perfectly logical reason for that... right?

No, it may not be logical at all, but I guess I would just like more of an underdog team to win. Of course, I'd love the Raptors to win, but after that abysmal game 1 yesterday maybe I'll put my money on OKC.

I get that, I really do. Because the Warriors have been the underdog for DECADES. Even in the couple years we were good in the early 90s we were underdogs. The 06-07 "We Believe" Warriors were underdogs. By no means were we considered the favorites last season, either. So, with respect, haters can bite it. It's way too soon for there to be a Warriors hate train. This team and their fans suffered through mediocrity for a vast majority of the last FORTY years. Y'all can't let us have a few good years in happiness? Come on now.

It's funny, I have friends who absolutely HATE the Spurs, and to be honest they've never been my favorites either. But when my friends and I talk ball and they get rolling on the Spurs hate train all I have to say to all of their points is "I wish the Warriors were like that". I wish the Warriors could grow talent, draft well, sign quality free agents, not constantly trade their good players, not have a roster full of self-entitled assholes, win the right way, love their fans, make the playoffs, ya know, more than once a decade. So now we actually embody some of those things, and people are starting to hate us already.

[Edited 4/18/16 14:06pm]

RodeoSchro said:

missfee said:

Is it me or are the Rockets in dire need of a good barber???? Just sayin'.

They are in dire need of many things. But most importantly, they are in dire need of some voodoo priestess to remove the Kardashian Curse that James Harden inflicted upon them when he dated one of the Kardashians earlier this year.

I don't know how you remove that curse but I have to assume it involves a lot of soap and penicillin.

Stan Van Gundy is acting like a bitch: this is the playoffs. LeBron is not going to get called for
offensive fouls and nor should he. In the playoffs, the refs are hesitant to call hard fouls on both
ends of the floor and LBJ, like MJ, has earned the respect of refs to play with a bit more freedom.

Stan Van Gundy is acting like a bawse: this is the playoffs. You have to coach your guys and
prepare them to face the realities and hardships involved in the NBA playoffs. He's working the
refs and he's a great basketball coach.

Westerm Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Portland Trail Blazers 95 Los Angeles Clippers 115


The Los Angeles Clippers were looking to comie into these playoffs with the old form they had last season against the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets before their shocking collapse in the Western Conference Semifinals. And while it took Blake Griffin a while to regain his old form after missing 45 games due to an injury and suspension, he looked ilke the dominating player we all knew from before. It was a return to Lob City, with Chris Paul leading the way with 28 points while dishing out 11 assists. Grffin scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while DeAndre Jordan scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. J.J. Redick added 17 points while Jamal Crawford added 13 points off the bench. Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 21 points while Gerald Henderson added 16 points off the bench.

LA Clippers lead series 1-0.

Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Leonard was the defensive leader for the San Antonio Spurs, who allowed the fewest points per game during the regular season, giving up three points fewer per contest than the Urtah Jazz, who were second in the league. The Spurs had a defensive rating of 94.9 with Leonard on the court and 99.2 when he wasn't, according to NBA.com/Stats.

Individually, Leonard tallied 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He ranked fifth in the NBA in Defensive Real Plus-Minus as the only non-power forward or center in the top 25. He was also named to his first All-Star team this season.

Leonard received 547 points and 84 first-place votes from the voting panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters. Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green (421 points, 44 first-place votes) finished second for the second straight season. He was followed by Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (83 points, two first-place votes) in third.

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 2

Indiana Pacers 87 Toronto Raptors 98

The Toronto Raptors came iinto this game having lost their last seven playoff games, and if they didn't snap out of their funk immediately, they would be facing an 0-2 deficit going into Indiana.

Fortunetly, the Raptors came out swinging. They were led by Jonas Valanciunas, who scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as Toronto took command and evened this series. Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan continued to struggle from the floor, though they both had better games tonight. Lowry scored 18 points on just 4 for 13 shooting from the floor, but he made up for that with nine assists and seven rebounds. DeRozan finished with 10 points on 5 for 18 shooting. Patrick Patterson added 14 points off the bench while Cory Joseph added 16 points.

Paul George led the Pacers with 28 points while Monta Ellis added 15 points. However, no other player for the Pacers reached double digits.

Series tied at 1-1.

Abdul said:

missfee said:

Is it me or are the Rockets in dire need of a good barber???? Just sayin'.

They like to rock that nappy look

RodeoSchro said:

Western Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 2

Dallas Mavericks 85 Oklahoma City Thunder 84


The Dallas Mavericks were embarrassed at their performance in game 1 of this series and was determined to come out with more energy and effort than they did in the opener. And for the most part they did just that, keeping it close in the first half and even leading by two at halftime. But OKC would open the third quarter with an 11-3 run, and it appeared that the Thunder would roll over the Mavs again.

But Dallas would rally back, and after weathering another run they would come charging back in the final minutes to take a four point lead with 14.4 seconds remaining in the game. The Mavs were led by Raymond Felton, who scored 21 points in this game while Dirk Nowitzki added 17 points. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 21 points but had one of his worst shooting games of his postseason career, shooting just 7 for 33 from the floor. Russell Westbrook scored 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out six assists while Serge Ibaka added 12 points for OKC.

But the exceitment came in the closing seconds. Kevin Durant, who struggled all night from the field, hit a clutch 3-pointer to bring OKC witihin one point with just over nine seconds left in the game. Raymond Felton would be fouled on the inbounds pass and went to the free throw line to shoot two shots, but he missed both of them. Durant grabbed the rebound, stormed down the court, and attempted a quick layup which missed. Westbrook grabbed the rebound and attempted the putback, but he missed, but Steven Adams would tip the ball in to give OKC an apparent victory. However, upon further review it was determined that Adams still had the ball in his hand when time expired, thus giving the Mavs the victory and evening the series.

Series tied at 1-1.

Messed around and scored 115... without Steph Curry.

Cerebus said:

missfee said:

Cerebus said:

Messed around and scored 115... without Steph Curry.

GSW definitely stepped up and crushed it. No Curry? No problem...done and done.

Not against Houston. Nope. I'm a realist, though, so I'm fully aware we'll need him against any other team. Worked out well for us. If he needed to miss a game, this was the one to miss. At home with three more days rest afterwards.

I love how James Harden get burned on defense, then looks around for help. How about doing your job and staying with your man?

Houston did McHale a favor by firing him. Who the hell wants to coach these clowns?

Cerebus said:

missfee said:

Cerebus said: GSW definitely stepped up and crushed it. No Curry? No problem...done and done.

Not against Houston. Nope. I'm a realist, though, so I'm fully aware we'll need him against any other team. Worked out well for us. If he needed to miss a game, this was the one to miss. At home with three more days rest afterwards.

I can't imagine playing with this Houston roster.

What is up with their GM?

I don't know what Kevin McHale did or didn't do to make the Rockets jell last year, but clearly he was the difference.

Unless, of course, not even Kevin McHale could overcome the Kardashian Curse that James Harden inflicted upon us. That's always a possibility.

Maybe we could sic one of the Kardashians on a Golden State Warrior today.

RodeoSchro said:

I don't know what Kevin McHale did or didn't do to make the Rockets jell last year, but clearly he was the difference.

Unless, of course, not even Kevin McHale could overcome the Kardashian Curse that James Harden inflicted upon us. That's always a possibility.

Maybe we could sic one of the Kardashians on a Golden State Warrior today.

McHale wanted these idiots to play defense.

uPtoWnNY said:

RodeoSchro said:

I don't know what Kevin McHale did or didn't do to make the Rockets jell last year, but clearly he was the difference.

Unless, of course, not even Kevin McHale could overcome the Kardashian Curse that James Harden inflicted upon us. That's always a possibility.

Maybe we could sic one of the Kardashians on a Golden State Warrior today.

McHale wanted these idiots to play defense.

LOL, you're right. I have to think Bickerstaff does too, but the fellas won't listen to him for some reason. Maybe it's because he was named "interim" coach and is still called the "interim" coach, so the players know he's gone.

Whatever, I sure miss McHale.

missfee said:

The Dallas vs. OKC game 2 was fuckin' good. OKC celebrated prematurely, believing they had the winning shot....but then after a review, the refs determined that the clock was at 0 before the ball went in....so the scoreboard was reversed and Dallas won!!!!! CRAZY!!!!!!

Dallas is always a tough out in the first round regardless of seeding. Ask the Spurs.

RodeoSchro said:

missfee said:

Is it me or are the Rockets in dire need of a good barber???? Just sayin'.

They are in dire need of many things. But most importantly, they are in dire need of some voodoo priestess to remove the Kardashian Curse that James Harden inflicted upon them when he dated one of the Kardashians earlier this year.

I don't know how you remove that curse but I have to assume it involves a lot of soap and penicillin.

Good one Rodeo

728huey said:

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 2

Indiana Pacers 87 Toronto Raptors 98

The Toronto Raptors came iinto this game having lost their last seven playoff games, and if they didn't snap out of their funk immediately, they would be facing an 0-2 deficit going into Indiana.

Fortunetly, the Raptors came out swinging. They were led by Jonas Valanciunas, who scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as Toronto took command and evened this series. Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan continued to struggle from the floor, though they both had better games tonight. Lowry scored 18 points on just 4 for 13 shooting from the floor, but he made up for that with nine assists and seven rebounds. DeRozan finished with 10 points on 5 for 18 shooting. Patrick Patterson added 14 points off the bench while Cory Joseph added 16 points.

Paul George led the Pacers with 28 points while Monta Ellis added 15 points. However, no other player for the Pacers reached double digits.

Series tied at 1-1.

Thank you Raptors! Jonas was awesome last night. Too bad he gets underestimated, but at least he made them pay for it.

namepeace said:

missfee said:

The Dallas vs. OKC game 2 was fuckin' good. OKC celebrated prematurely, believing they had the winning shot....but then after a review, the refs determined that the clock was at 0 before the ball went in....so the scoreboard was reversed and Dallas won!!!!! CRAZY!!!!!!

Dallas is always a tough out in the first round regardless of seeding. Ask the Spurs.

Last night was choke job by Durant that got Dallas the win.

RodeoSchro said:

I don't know what Kevin McHale did or didn't do to make the Rockets jell last year, but clearly he was the difference.

Unless, of course, not even Kevin McHale could overcome the Kardashian Curse that James Harden inflicted upon us. That's always a possibility.

Maybe we could sic one of the Kardashians on a Golden State Warrior today.

I have it on good authority that all the Warriors players are up to date on their vaccinations. Sorry.

Graycap23 said:

Cerebus said:

Not against Houston. Nope. I'm a realist, though, so I'm fully aware we'll need him against any other team. Worked out well for us. If he needed to miss a game, this was the one to miss. At home with three more days rest afterwards.

I can't imagine playing with this Houston roster.

What is up with their GM?

I can imagine, because the Warriors have had some busted ass rosters in the past. The thing is, Houston should be better than this. As has already been pointed out, they don't play any kind of team defense, and their "superstars" don't give good individual defensive effort either. Although, partially that's not true. Howard still looks like he wants to, but he can't (on either end of the floor). Dwight gets one more year (and likely it will be on a different team) to prove that he has any of his old self left, if not, it will likely be a slow downhill ride to retirement for him. Harden, I just don't get. We were trying to figure out a good word for him last night and we settled on entitled. He plays like he believes he should be allowed to take whatever shots he wants and then stand around waiting for the other four guys to do the rest of the work. I truly believe those two guys are a huge part of Houston's problem, which is completely counterintuitive, because they certainly appear good enough to build a team around. As an example, put Westbrook and Durant on that roster instead of Howard and Harden. Without making any other changes they would be a vastly improved team.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

I can't imagine playing with this Houston roster.

What is up with their GM?

I can imagine, because the Warriors have had some busted ass rosters in the past. The thing is, Houston should be better than this. As has already been pointed out, they don't play any kind of team defense, and their "superstars" don't give good individual defensive effort either. Although, partially that's not true. Howard still looks like he wants to, but he can't (on either end of the floor). Dwight gets one more year (and likely it will be on a different team) to prove that he has any of his old self left, if not, it will likely be a slow downhill ride to retirement for him. Harden, I just don't get. We were trying to figure out a good word for him last night and we settled on entitled. He plays like he believes he should be allowed to take whatever shots he wants and then stand around waiting for the other four guys to do the rest of the work. I truly believe those two guys are a huge part of Houston's problem, which is completely counterintuitive, because they certainly appear good enough to build a team around. As an example, put Westbrook and Durant on that roster instead of Howard and Harden. Without making any other changes they would be a vastly improved team.

You nailed it perfectly. For all Harden's offensive skills, I wouldn't want him on my team. And I smh at Dwight Howard. If I was built like that, I'd be whippin' ass in the paint, I'd work on my game during the off-season and I'd tell Harden get me the ball or I'm fucking you up. Shaq said if he wasn't getting touches he'd let his guys know about it.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

I can't imagine playing with this Houston roster.

What is up with their GM?

I can imagine, because the Warriors have had some busted ass rosters in the past. The thing is, Houston should be better than this. As has already been pointed out, they don't play any kind of team defense, and their "superstars" don't give good individual defensive effort either. Although, partially that's not true. Howard still looks like he wants to, but he can't (on either end of the floor). Dwight gets one more year (and likely it will be on a different team) to prove that he has any of his old self left, if not, it will likely be a slow downhill ride to retirement for him. Harden, I just don't get. We were trying to figure out a good word for him last night and we settled on entitled. He plays like he believes he should be allowed to take whatever shots he wants and then stand around waiting for the other four guys to do the rest of the work. I truly believe those two guys are a huge part of Houston's problem, which is completely counterintuitive, because they certainly appear good enough to build a team around. As an example, put Westbrook and Durant on that roster instead of Howard and Harden. Without making any other changes they would be a vastly improved team.

I hear you.

I watch that team and I see ZERO chemistry. Just a bunch of dudes thrown together to watch Harden dribble out the shot clock. smh..........unreal.

I just couldn't have a teammate like Harden.

I don't know what I'd do......but it wouldn't be nice.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

I can't imagine playing with this Houston roster.

What is up with their GM?

I can imagine, because the Warriors have had some busted ass rosters in the past. The thing is, Houston should be better than this. As has already been pointed out, they don't play any kind of team defense, and their "superstars" don't give good individual defensive effort either. Although, partially that's not true. Howard still looks like he wants to, but he can't (on either end of the floor). Dwight gets one more year (and likely it will be on a different team) to prove that he has any of his old self left, if not, it will likely be a slow downhill ride to retirement for him. Harden, I just don't get. We were trying to figure out a good word for him last night and we settled on entitled. He plays like he believes he should be allowed to take whatever shots he wants and then stand around waiting for the other four guys to do the rest of the work. I truly believe those two guys are a huge part of Houston's problem, which is completely counterintuitive, because they certainly appear good enough to build a team around. As an example, put Westbrook and Durant on that roster instead of Howard and Harden. Without making any other changes they would be a vastly improved team.

I think Howard's shoulders are toast. He alluded to that a month or two ago, talking about how players hang all over him the entire game, and he doesn't get any calls, and his shoulders just can't take it. I doubt the hanging on is what hurt the shoulders, but it sure doesn't help.

Golden State figured out Harden last year in the playoffs. Pressure him while he dribbles, and you take away most of his moves.

I'd really like to know the inside skinny on why Les Alexander fired McHale so suddenly and dramatically. That's really not like Alexander. He's been a pretty loyal owner. But clearly something or someone convinced him McHale had to go and go immediately. That was a bad move, IMO.

Maybe winning three NBA championships, getting elected to the Hall of Fame, being on of the NBA's Top 50 Players of the last century, and having the highest winning percentage of any Rockets coach ever didn't fit into general manager Daryl Morey's coaching algorithim. Morey says McHale was fired 11 games into the season because we were 4-7 and had lost at home to two non-playoff teams.

All true but McHale wasn't the one laying the eggs on the court. That was Harden and Howard and the players.

Jamal Crawford was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year today. It marks the third time he has won this award, and not only is he the oldest player to receive this honor at age 36, but he becomes the first player to win it three times and with multiple ballclubs. (Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers)

Crawford averaged 14.2 points and 2.3 assists in 79 games this season. He came off the bench in 74 of those games. He ranked second in the NBA in free throw percentage (90.4). To be eligible for the award, players have to have come off the bench in more games than they started.

Crawford was the Clippers' third-leading scorer, with 15.6 points per game, during a 45-game stretch without Blake Griffin in the lineup. For the entire season, Crawford scored more points in the fourth quarter (341) than any other Clippers player. In February alone, Crawford averaged 19.5 points.

Crawford had 51 first-place votes and 341 points from 130 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Golden State's Andre Iguodala finished second in the voting (288 points) while Oklahoma City's Enes Kanter (182) was third.